San Francisco Giants' Brandon Crawford grounds into a double play against the Colorado Rockies in the seventh inning of the Giants' 7-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies in a baseball game in Denver on Monday, April 9, 2012. Crawford drove in three runs with a double in the fifth inning to lead the Giants to the win. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

- Manager Bruce Bochy is acutely aware that fans are upset when Brandon Belt does not play. Bochy sat Belt on Monday in the wake of a 1-for-10, five-strikeout series in Arizona. Aubrey Huff started at first base and Gregor Blanco replaced him in the outfield.

When reporters kept peppering Bochy with questions about the Belt decision, he pushed back slightly.

"I think we're overstating this a little bit. He's getting a day," Bochy said. "We wanted to get a little more speed in the outfield, and Huff is swinging it a little better. We haven't won a game. We want to put our best lineup out there. I think we're getting a little caught up here. It's not like there's any panic."

Bochy has expressed his commitment to playing Belt, but the second-year player admitted in a meeting with Bochy that he might have pressed in the season-opening series. Bochy decided to give Belt two days to step back and regroup. The Giants are off Tuesday.

Bochy said Belt would return to the lineup Wednesday night.

"When a hitter tells me he's pressing, it's time to give him a day to relax a little bit," Bochy said. "It's natural for young players early in the season. They want to get off to a good start. They lose sight that there are a lot of games in the season and the first week is not going to determine what your season is going to be like."

The offense: Lost in the Barry Zito shutout was another nice effort by the offense, which has scored 21 runs in four games.

Pablo Sandoval, who has started hot, hit a two-run homer in the first against Jhoulys Chacin. Chacin walked the bases loaded in a two-run third that featured an RBI single by Hector Sanchez. Brandon Crawford hit a three-run double in the fifth.

Briefly: Zito won for the first time since July 7. ... The Giants averted their first 0-4 start since 1950. ... The Giants were 0-for-19 against left-handed pitchers before Sanchez singled in the fifth against Matt Reynolds.

Tuesday

Off

Wednesday

at Rockies

5:40 p.m. CSNBA

Lincecum (0-1) vs. Guthrie (1-0)

Thursday

at Rockies

12:10 p.m. CSNBA

Bumgarner (0-1) vs. Moyer (0-1)

Playing Nate: Nate Schierholtz largely has been missing in action, but manager Bruce Bochy hopes to get him a start in this series, partly because he hits well at Coors Field, where last year he hit a 467-foot homer.